The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-09-22
THE EXPERIENCE
OF Il Successful T:rmer with Pens as n
t.sg-s s Fertilizer. y4 .,.a

| ....AS' - 1s'A cas- as
/ r,.-4 % Fertilizer ~ lgf
! lSlecial Cor. STATE CHRoNICLEl
/ ! y We beeu thinking for some time O.
4 writit;- and giving my experience with tn,
| nefd, or COW pea, as a fertilizer; hoping
| that It might be of some benefit to those
farmers who have never tried to enrich
their lands by this mode. l see in YOU,
issue OF the 1st inst. that Mr.. Geo. Aller
of New Berne propounds and presume
intends to answer several questions in re
gard to ''bringing up" lands, and among
others is the plan of sowing and turning
under peas.
do not intend to anticipate Mr.. Allen,
but suppose that he would not object to
having the experience of farmers in differ
ent sections of the State Several years
ago l sowed small triangular piece of
! land IN wheat, where cotton had been cul-
tlvated the four preceding years; with
the intention of trying the pea as a fertil-
izer. as l saw the land was fast deteriorat-
ing by continued cultivation in cotton.
which, by the way, | am sure impoverishes
land faster thu n any other crop, if it is
planted on the same piece of land through
series of years with commercial fertilizers
alone. | made eleven bushels of wheat
without any manure. After the wheat
had been taken off, | had it laid off in
eAiSO iCCC IO"S anu dUOuC ID peas ufODDeO
every two feet, q planted In rows to in
sure large crop of the pea or pod as my
opinion was that the principal fertilizing
properties of the cow pea is in the pea it.
self) l run sweep twice before the peas
commenced vlning much. The result was
that had one of the finest crops of peas
have seen and good quantity of vines,
but not as many of the latter AS if the
land had been manured and the peas
sOWed. Sometime in October after the
vines had shed the leaves, l took two
horse plow and turned all under. l soon
afterwards planted wheat again, without
any fertilizer. The wheat looked rank
and iuXuriant tho next Spring and bid
fair to make Thirty bushels to the acre
but early in the season it took tho rust
badly and ! only got about IL bushels per
acre. ! again seeded to peas, but for some
reason which | now do not recollect dld
not pillow them, but they made very fair
crop aud were turned in the following Fall
The next Spring | planted same land in
cotton and applied about three hundred
pounds OF guano per acre. | cultivated
in the usual way. Gotten pickers being
scarce that season l did not get boil
picked until it was all open, but gathered
l,a0Q pounds TO the acre. l had been
gathering previous to this 500 and 900
ptbuuttS " tuS dCIt. ne ucAt SSdSOu l
planted in cotton again-dO not recOllect
what brand of fertilizer | used-but got
800 per acre-the ard season I did not
weigh it separate, but the cotton was far
better than where the peas had not been
s0wn, lit was part OF a so acre field of
the same quality of land, therefore had a
good opportunity to compare The ground
seemed to be mellow to the very row and
did not have the hard crust on top after a
heavy rain that this quality of land sandy
loan with clay suhsoil usually has.
l have continued the use of peas as a fer
tilizer since my experiment as above stated
in a way that has given very good results,
but not to get the best Or full benefit. 1t is
as follows, Wis have planted corn after
cotton, the second blowing of corn planted
peas on beth sides of row, and in the mid
die the last plowing. l then let the hogs
run on peas after the corn was gathered,
turned under vines in early Spring. I
have concluded this year. on land which
has been alternated for six years, having
three pea fallows, that the fertility has
been increased fifty per cent. even in the
imperfect way last mentioned.
The very best IT suits can be obtained by
turning under peas and vines together
after the leaves have fallen off neglect
ed to state that small tract of land was
seeded 10 peas the same year and manner
that ! have stated the triangular piece
was seeded, in an adjacent field. The
peas or pods which were ripe in September
We're picked and the vines turned under
green. The effect on next Years crop was
thought by several gentlemen not to be as
good by at least 25 per cent. There two
experiments were tried purposely to test
it. | am satisfied that the fertility of
lands which are adopted to the pea, can
be increased so per cent, by every heavy
coating OF pea vines plowed under with
pod and vines without a corn crop, and
from "a to 80 per cent. with crop of corn
when the entire surface can be covered
with the vines-I am no chemist, but l
suppose pea vines besides humus, collects
and adds nitrogen and carbonic acid.
Our soils nearly all need carbonic acid that
have been cultivated for long time |
am aware that theOrist tell US that the
air supplies this in sufficient quantities,
but l have grave doubts on this point
Swamp mud contains considerable guam
tity-marble large quantity and is re-
leased by being pulverized and acted on
by an acid which all lovers of sodawater
know. Now if we could release this
from the marble, so as to get it in a porta-
BILE form and combine with the ingredients
of our commercial fertilizers, l think we
would have complete manure.
RUSTICUS.
1t Will be q Glorious Day When the Same
Thing is True in North Carolina.
From Boston letter.
l wonder if it sounds strange in more
sophisticated latitudes to be told that there
are to this day New England towns in
abundance where the best educated and
best bred Yankee girl of the best old colo